"She was afraid to come out of the water ..." Back in the day, there was a song on the radio about a young girl with a dilemma. She was wearing her new polkadot bikini in the water and lost her nerve. She was just too self-conscious to come out in front of other people, too shy to feel so exposed. So she stayed in the water.
Kind of a funny song, and most teenage girls could relate to the feelings of this girl in the polka dot bikini.
But ... not so funny when you think about it. Don't let insecurities and imagined, magnified or even realistic flaws of your body spoil your summer fun. This time of year, the average North American female is thinking about losing her winter weight, toning up soft muscles and trying to become as close as possible to the Body Beautiful in each of our psyches.
It's a great idea to eat healthy foods and to lose unhealthy weight. It's also a great idea to tone those muscles and make your body as fit as you can. But, do it for you. Do it out of respect for your body, and for yourself. Don't get caught up in the trap of obsessing about the opinions of people you know and for heaven'ssake, even people you don't know.
Many women, as they get older, look back on their younger selves with a changed perspective. Many wish with all their hearts that they had not wasted so much time and energy wrapped up in other people's judgments. They wish now that they had given themselves a break. Spent more time going for it endless time wondering if their hair was right, and their thighs were thin enough, their legs trim enough, .... you know what I'm saying.
By all means, eat that great healthy food and walk away from junk food. And raise a sweat, raise your heart rate, make that body sing. Do it in a way that says you love yourself and you want to be the best you can be, for yourself. And then you be the judge of what that is. Put on your running shoes, or hop on your bike,head off to the gym -- follow your Fitness Muse and Cheerleader in whatever other way you choose, and leave the internal and external critical judges behind.
Jody Smith is a freelance writer for EmpowHER.com.
Sources:
Self-Esteem & Body Image
http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/self_esteem.html
Cause of low self esteem
http://www.health-womens-healthy-living-goals.com/cause-of-low-self-esteem.html
Related Links:
Improve Your Self-Esteem During Boost Self-Esteem Month
How to Improve Body Image and Self-Esteem in Overweight Teens
Top Superfoods for Summer
http://www.empowher.com/active-adult/content/top-superfoods-summer
